The present invention relates to passenger loading bridges and more particularly to a system for automatically retracting a passenger loading bridge to a predetermined standby position.
Aircraft passenger loading bridges are used to convey people between an airport building and a parked aircraft in order to provide a sheltered access passageway for the aircraft passengers while boarding or deplaning. Advantageously, a passenger loading bridge also provides a path protected from weather and other environmental influences.
The passenger loading bridges used are telescopically extendable and height adjustable. Passenger loading bridges in present day use comprise a plurality of adjustable modules, including: a rotunda, a telescopically extendable tunnel, a bubble section, a cab, and elevating columns with wheel carriage. Some bridges have a fixed length and are pivotable radially about a fixed pivot between a stowed position and an aircraft engaging position, some bridges are telescopically extendable longitudinally and are pivotable radially about a fixed pivot and some bridges have a fixed length and are mounted on a stationary pedestal. An aircraft engaging cab is mounted on the distal end of each of the aforementioned types of bridges.
Typical longitudinally telescopically extendable bridges include two or three telescopically extendable tunnel sections, which are rectangular in cross-section, the inner one of which is supported by a rotunda arranged to provide passage to and from the terminal through a door or gate and the outer tunnel by a drive unit which can position the outer end of the bridge adjacent a door of the parked aircraft. Advantageously, the modular design of prior art passenger loading bridges allows a bridge operator to adjust the length of the bridge, which is achieved by extending or retracting the telescopically extendable tunnel sections. These adjustments are needed in order to service a wide range of aircraft models for a number of reasons, including the provision of a clear, unimpeded path for parking of the aircraft, accommodation of variations in the length of various aircraft types and the location of the passenger door thereon or different doors on a given type of aircraft.
In addition to compensating for different sized aircraft, the operator must also adjust the bridge position so as to correct for imprecise parking of the aircraft at the airport terminal. Typically, the bridge operator uses a control panel located within the cab section to adjust the bridge every time a flight arrives, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,761,757 to Mitchell.
Each type of bridge has a mechanism for allowing an operator to adjust the vertical height of the cab at the distal end of the bridge such that the cab engages the doors of different types of aircraft at a proper location. An operator operates the height adjust by a control in the cab. Some bridges have a motor control, which incorporates a joystick. The joystick enables an operator to control the motor to raise or lower the cab by moving the joystick forward or backward. With some systems, the operator must visually determine the proper position of the cab with respect to an aircraft door and move the joystick until the mechanism has moved the cab to the proper position.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,226,204 to Schoenberger et al., a tele-robotic passenger loading bridge control system is disclosed. An operator sees a target vehicle either directly or through video cameras, and guides the passenger loading bridge to mate with the target vehicle through commands to an on-board computer via a combination of input/output devices such as joysticks, menus, and buttons. By using a tele-robotic approach, the system is designed such that the operator can control the passenger loading bridge either locally or at a remote site.
However, as is apparent to a person with skill in the art, it is a disadvantage of prior art passenger loading bridge systems that, after the passengers have deplaned or boarded the aircraft, a process which often takes quite a bit of time, a bridge operator must return to the control panel located within the cab section or at a remote site to disengage the passenger loading bridge and return it to a xe2x80x98stowedxe2x80x99 position until it is required for further use with another aircraft. As such, bridge operators are paid to perform a very routine operation of stowing the passenger loading bridge, which operation often involves considerable waiting time during which the operator is idle. This also infers an enormous schedule management of the operators in an airport to ensure that the operator schedule does not affect availability for performing the tasks when a boarding bridge is to be maneuvered to a stowed position.
The Patent No. WO 9608411 to FMT International Trade AB overcomes drawbacks of the prior art by automatically returning the passenger loading bridge to its parking position after the aircraft has left the stand. Inconveniently, if an individual is still in the bridge when the aircraft begins its motion, the jerk induced to the bridge can be harmful to the person. This is also potentially dangerous for the aircraft that can be damaged because of the existence of the contact with the bridge.
It would be advantageous to provide a system that allows an automatic retraction of a loading bridge prior to the aircraft. Furthermore, the system should be sensitive to any motion from the aircraft to automatically retract in order to protect either a person still in the bridge or the aircraft itself from damage.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a system for retracting a passenger loading bridge from an aircraft after passenger boarding or deplaning is complete, absent bridge operator intervention.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a system for controlling an automatic retraction of a passenger loading bridge along with an automatic switch off of other devices connected to the aircraft.
It is another further object of the present invention to provide a method of automatically retracting a passenger loading bridge from an aircraft after passenger boarding or deplaning is complete.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a system for automatically retracting a passenger loading bridge relative to a door of an aircraft comprising: a retraction initiator for providing a control signal indicative of a passenger loading bridge retraction request prior to the aircraft moving substantially from a parking location adjacent the passenger loading bridge; a bridge controller in operative communication with the retraction initiator for receiving the control signal therefrom, for determining a movement for moving the passenger loading bridge from a first position in which a cabin end of the passenger loading bridge is mated with the door of the aircraft toward a second position in which the cabin end of the passenger loading bridge is other than mated with the door of the aircraft, and for providing a second signal indicative of the determined movement; and, a bridge actuator in operative communication with the bridge controller for receiving the second signal therefrom and for automatically performing the determined movement of the passenger loading bridge.
In accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a system for automatically retracting a passenger loading bridge from an engaged position relative to an aircraft having a door, the aircraft being releasably connectable to a service provider, the system comprising: at least a sensor for detecting one of a plurality of predetermined events other than a user input at an input device coupled thereto and for providing a signal in dependence upon said detected predetermined events; and a bridge actuator in operative communication with the at least a sensor for receiving the signal and for automatically performing a retraction movement in order to retract the bridge from the aircraft in response to the signal indicative of one of the plurality of predetermined events being sensed.
In accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of retracting a passenger loading bridge from an engaged position relative to an aircraft having a door comprising the steps of: receiving data indicative of a passenger loading bridge retraction request while the bridge is engaged to the aircraft and prior to the aircraft moving substantially from an engaged position to a second position other than an engaged position; determining a retraction movement for moving the passenger loading bridge toward the second position; and, automatically performing the determined retraction movement of the passenger loading bridge.